Case Study: Prairie Land Regional Division achieves increased community engagement and confident decision-making with ThoughtExchange

Prairie Land Regional Division - Customer Case Study

Prairie Land Regional Division, a sparsely populated Alberta jurisdiction with 19 schools spread across roughly 16,000 km², faced difficulty bringing distant communities together on tough decisions — notably setting an annual school calendar, planning school amalgamations and improving division-wide communications. Geographic distance, varied local needs (farming schedules, local events, video-conferencing for small schools) and low turnout for traditional consultations made consensusbuilding especially challenging.

PLRD used Thoughtexchange’s online engagement platform to reach more parents, staff and community members asynchronously and by demographic. The process increased participation compared with surveys, clarified shared values that shaped the annual calendar, built understanding and support around compromises, informed plans for a modernized school and gave the board confidence to move forward on amalgamation and communication decisions.

Prairie Land Regional Division

Wes Neumeier

Superintendent